One of the things that can be most difficult for adults and students to understand is that everything on the Internet is subject to copyright guidelines. We have to teach staff and students that just because the information is easy to find doesn’t mean that you can copy it, use it or claim it as your own.
Images are often the most misused in terms of copyright. They get put in our presentations, on websites, on social media and more. We need to teach students how to find images that are copyright friendly and that are legal to use.
Here are some of my favorite places to find copyright friendly images:
This site allows you to search for more than just images. It helps you to find copyright friendly media of all sorts.
How it works:
- Enter your search term.
- Select options for commercial use and modification
- Select the source base on the type of media you need.
Always follow the link for the image to confirm its Creative Commons licensing.
2. Pixabay
Pixabay has become my new favorite place for finding images and now videos that can be used for free and often without attribution.
How it works:
- Select the type of image you require: illustration, photo, vector or video. Click Search.
- Follow the image link to view the licensing.
- Download the image using the download button.
- Note: If you download several images at one time, you will be required to create an account and log in.
3. Google Image Search
Students already know how to search for images in Google. We need to ensure they are using copyright friendly images. Google Image Search provides a tool to help you filter image results by license.
How it works:
- Search for your image in Google Image Search.
- Click on Tools
- Click on Usage Rights.
- Select the desired level of licensing required.
- Images will then be filtered based upon the license level.
It may be difficult for people to realize that just because it is online, doesn’t mean that it’s always free to use. Teaching students the how to abide by copyright guidelines when selecting images can be the first step in ensuring they become good stewards of the wealth of information at their fingertips.